Member News & Announcements, September IO 2020
News from NISO Members
Open Access, Open Science
eLife launches Executable Research Articles for publishing computationally reproducible results
eLife Sciences Publications Ltd, Voting Member, Press Release, August 24, 2020
eLife is pleased to announce today the launch of Executable Research Articles (ERAs), allowing authors to post a computationally reproducible version of their published paper in the open-access journal.
eLife invests in open-source technology innovation to improve online tools for sharing, using and interacting with new results. The organisation has been working on the concept of computationally reproducible papers since 2017, first in partnership with Substance and later with Stencila. The open-source suite of tools that started life as the Reproducible Document Stack is now live on eLife as ERA, delivering a web-native format for making published research more transparent, interactive and reproducible.
IOP Publishing Joins Research4Life to boost access to scientific research in low-income countries
IOP Publishing, Voting Member, News Announcement, August 13, 2020
IOP Publishing has joined Research4Life, a multi-organisation partnership aiming to reduce the knowledge gap between high-income and low- and middle-income countries by making scholarly, professional and research information more accessible.
It means that IOPP’s journals – which span more than 40 subject areas reaching beyond physics and into materials science, biosciences, environmental sciences, mathematics, engineering and education – will be accessible to institutions and organisations in 120 lower income countries.
Women’s Voting Rights Turn 100; ProQuest Launches Open Access Suffrage Collection
ProQuest, Voting Member, Blog Posting, August 13, 2020
August 2020 marks the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which affirmed: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” This milestone was the culmination of 72 years of struggle that began at a woman’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, N.Y. in 1848.
To honor this anniversary, I’ve worked since 2014 with history scholars and volunteers to organize, research and edit the Online Biographical Dictionary of the Woman Suffrage Movement in the United States, and is now working with ProQuest to launch it as an open-access resource.
U of A Leads Project to Open Access to Digital Learning Across Alberta
University of Alberta, L.S.A. Member, News Announcement, August 10, 2020
A new collaboration between University of Alberta Libraries and other post-secondary institutions across Alberta is providing students and instructors with the ability to access and create digital learning materials for free.
The service, Open Education Alberta, is a platform that enables the adaptation, creation and use of open education resources (OERs) in post-secondary courses.
OERs are digital learning materials that are openly licenced, said Michelle Brailey, digital initiatives projects librarian and project lead. They are either in the public domain or have been released under a licence that permits their use and repurposing by others, so anyone can use the work without obtaining permission or paying a publisher.
Infrastructure and Platforms
JSTOR DDA now available through GOBI
ITHAKA/JSTOR/Portico, Voting Member, News Announcement, August 20, 2020
JSTOR’s Demand-Driven Acquisition program is now available through GOBI Library Solutions from EBSCO, helping libraries streamline their ebook acquisition workflows. GOBI’s multi-vendor DDA service prevents content gaps by cascading the DDA option to an available platform based on the library’s preferences. It provides trusted technical services, deduplication, and collection development support.
JSTOR’s ebook program offers 90,000 high-quality titles from scholarly publishers. Our unlimited-user, DRM-free access model and seamless integration with journals and primary sources provides an easy and familiar experience for researchers. The program’s tiered savings and generous DDA trigger of 7 total item requests ensure a strong value for libraries.
New BSI Taxonomy to help fast track safe automated driving
Book Industry Study Group (BISG), Voting Member, Press Release, August 11, 2020
BSI, in its role as the UK’s National Standards Body, publishes the first taxonomy for specifying the Operational Design Domain (ODD) of an automated driving system (ADS). It is the third publication from the CAV Standards Programme, backed by the government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and delivered in conjunction with the Department for Transport, Innovate UK and Zenzic.
The new standard, PAS 1883 Operational Design Domain (ODD) Taxonomy for Automated Driving Systems (ADS) – Specification, is intended to help enable safe automated driving by defining a common language for describing the operating conditions, such as the environment and driving situations, an automated vehicle has been designed to function in.
PAS 1883 provides common taxonomy for describing the ODD of an automated driving system, including the type of roads, traffic and weather. The new taxonomy will help organizations trialling and testing automated vehicles to describe their vehicles capabilities in a reliable and accurate way. This will also allow developers of CAV technologies to communicate the capabilities of their vehicles clearly and consistently to the likes of road authorities, insurers and consumers.
Libraries and Archives
Exploring the Effectiveness and Durability of Digital Preservation and Curation Services: Announcing a New Research Project Funded by IMLS
ITHAKA/JSTOR/Portico, Voting Member, Blog Posting, August 19, 2020
With generous funding from the Institute of Library and Museum Services (IMLS), we are pleased to initiate an 18-month research project to examine and assess how digital preservation and curation systems (DPCS) are developed, deployed, and sustained. Because our cultural, historic, and scientific heritage is increasingly being produced and shared in digital forms, libraries, archives, and museums are increasingly dependent on digital platforms to support the curation, discovery, and long-term management of digital content. Yet, some of these systems and tools have been shown to have substantial sustainability challenges. We will examine the business approaches of community-based DPCS and compare and relate them to strategies followed by commercial entities offering similar products. Also, our study aims to examine what it means for DPCS to be inclusive and accessible as they need to strike a balance between agility, inclusivity, and the diverse needs of users.
For the purposes of the study, we define DPCS as the tools and services used by cultural heritage organizations to undertake digital preservation and curation work. Examples include Archivematica, Cell Signalling Alliance (defunct), Chronopolis, ContentDM, Digital Preservation Network (defunct), DuraSpace, Dryad, EPrints, figshare, Greenstone, HathiTrust, Invenio, LOCKSS/CLOCKSS, Mukurtu, National Public Library of America (DPLA), Portico, Rosetta, Samvera/Hyku, and Zenodo. Through a series of case studies, we will analyze the business approaches of community-based and commercial initiatives, offer lessons learned, and propose alternative sustainability models for long-term maintenance and development. The study aims not only to further increase our understanding of sustainability principles but also to design actionable recommendations to help the sector implement research findings. To this end, we will convene a series of in-person and/or virtual forums to share the findings with the members of the relevant DPCS and higher education community, funders, and policy makers to facilitate community-based discussions of the research findings, implications, and alternative models. This process will take into consideration the varying needs and resources of cultural institutions that serve user communities with diverse geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Old Copyright Submissions — Hawthorne, Twain, Douglass and Thousands More
Library of Congress, Voting Member, Blog Posting, August 13, 2020
In celebration of copyright’s 150th anniversary this month, the Rare Book and Special Collections Division launches a new digital collection, Early Copyright Materials of the United States 1790-1870, which puts online for the first time nearly 50,000 title pages that accompanied copyright registrations dating back to the foundation of the country.
The documents — just the first wave of tens of thousands of old copyright entries that we’re digitizing — form a uniquely American record of creativity, dreams and aspirations from a world gone by. The title pages sent in by authors and publishers to register their books for copyright feature serious literature, comedies, romance, true crime and plays for the theater. There are works on religious instruction, how-to books and educational texts. There are also applications for inventions, sheet music, prints, photographs and illustrated works of the sciences, most notably botany and zoology.
Request for Information (RFI) Strategic Opportunities and Challenges for the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health
National Library of Medicine, Voting Member, News Announcement, August 6, 2020
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is one of the 27 Institutes and Centers of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the world’s largest biomedical library. Like other NIH Institutes and Centers, NLM supports and conducts research and research training relevant to its mission; for NLM, this includes information science, informatics, data analytics, and data science to advance computational biology and computational health science. Research is conducted intramurally in the NLM National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications (LHNCBC) and is supported extramurally through the Division of Extramural Programs.
As a national library, NLM is steward of a world-renowned collection of medical materials spanning ten centuries and originating from nearly every part of the globe, and it supports, promotes, and advances open science and scholarship through development and stewardship of integrated standards, tools, platforms, practices, policies, and resources that make biomedical information (including literature, research data, software tools, etc.) findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable to the world. Library functions are conducted by the Division of Library Operations, and are also integrated with the world-class digital platforms, resources, assets, and expertise of NCBI and LHNCBC.
Product Innovation
Algorithm Improves Fairness of Search Results
Cornell University, L.S.A. Member, News Announcement, August 17, 2020
In a new paper, Cornell researchers introduce a tool they’ve developed to improve the fairness of online rankings without sacrificing their usefulness or relevance.
“If you could examine all your choices equally and then decide what to pick, that may be considered ideal. But since we can’t do that, rankings become a crucial interface to navigate these choices,” said computer science doctoral student Ashudeep Singh, co-first author of “Controlling Fairness and Bias in Dynamic Learning-to-Rank,” which won the Best Paper Award at the Association for Computing Machinery SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval, held virtually July 25-30.
Research Efforts
ARL, CNI, EDUCAUSE Release Report on Future Scenarios for Research Libraries and Emerging Technologies
Association of Research Libraries (ARL), Voting Member, News Announcement, August 21, 2020
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), and EDUCAUSE published today a report on two invitational workshops with experts in learning and research applications of emerging technologies. The workshops, held this spring, focused on identifying likely futures for partnerships with libraries.
Future Themes and Forecasts for Research Libraries and Emerging Technologies, written by ARL visiting program officer Scout Calvert, synthesizes the work of the 27 workshop participants and presents key findings and post-workshop commentary. Calvert notes that, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which loomed over the workshop discussions, “participants were largely, if guardedly, optimistic and determined.” She reports “research libraries are viewed as ready partners” in working with emerging technologies for learning and research because libraries “are already engaged in activities that pertain to information literacy, data, and technology use.” Workshop participants expect fiscal constraints will make cross-department and cross-institution collaboration even more attractive. Calvert concludes, “Current events largely amplify pressures and opportunities for research libraries to mindfully and collaboratively adopt and shape emerging technologies to advance the mission in support of learning and research.”
Clarivate Launches Coronavirus, Virology and Infectious Disease (CVVID) Data Lake to Accelerate Research, Preparedness and Response to Future Pandemics
Clarivate Analytics, Voting Member, News Announcement, August 20, 2020
Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CCC), a global leader in providing trusted information and insights to accelerate the pace of innovation, today announced the launch of its Coronavirus, Virology, and Infectious Disease (CVID) Data Lake to support global researchers and policy makers in their efforts to make data-driven decisions that accelerate disease response, prevent and prepare for future pandemics.
The CVID Data Lake is the first of several therapeutically-oriented data lakes from Clarivate, bringing together the comprehensive information and insights that power the company’s market-leading tools, analytics and services, including real-world data (RWD) from DRG’s RWD product; scientific, clinical, regulatory and commercial data from Cortellis™; cited scholarly references indexed in Web of Science™; and both content and data from award-winning news service, BioWorld™, in one centralized source. Data from other sources can also be integrated, further enhancing derived insights.
Partnerships
Innovative partnership with Cambridge University Press will expand reach of MSU research publications
Montana State University, L.S.A. Member, and Cambridge University Press, Voting Member, News Announcement, August 19, 2020
Research published out of Montana State University will reach wider audiences and be more accessible thanks to an innovative new partnership between the university and Cambridge University Press.
The new agreement, known as a “read and publish” agreement, is the first of its kind for MSU. Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge, one of the world’s leading research institutions.
Under the terms of the three-year agreement, MSU authors will collectively be able to publish up to seven articles during the first year, up to eight articles during the second year and up to nine articles during the third year in Cambridge University Press’ hybrid or fully open access journals. In a hybrid journal, some of the articles are free for anyone to access, and some require a subscription; in fully open access journals, all articles in the journal are free for anyone to access.
IET Announces Partnership with J-STAGE to index 53 Japanese Journals in Inspec
The Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET), Voting Member, Press Release, August 14, 2020
The Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) research database, Inspec, will now include content from J-STAGE, Japan’s largest database for reviewed academic papers.
The partnership brings 53 journals from across Inspec’s coverage areas spanning: mechanical and production engineering; computers and control; electrical engineering and electronics; and physics. The range of titles reflects Inspec’s commitment to meeting multidisciplinary research needs, representing the publication output from top Japanese societies, associations and institutes.
The addition of more than four dozen journals from J-STAGE will expand the amount of Japanese research that is indexed in Inspec. Katharine Hancox, Content Development Manager for Inspec, said: “This co-operation with J-STAGE is significant in exposing quality Japanese research to the Inspec user base worldwide.”
SLSP, The Largest Swiss Library Network Serving Hundreds of Libraries, Selects Ex Libris Rapido Resource Sharing Solution
Ex Libris, Inc., Voting Member, News Announcement, August 12, 2020
Ex Libris®, a ProQuest company, is pleased to announce that the Swiss Library Service Platform (SLSP) has signed an agreement to join the early adopter program for the Ex Libris Rapido™ resource sharing solution. A national library network for Swiss universities and research institutions, SLSP is scheduled to go live in 2021 and is the first Rapido network in Europe. As a member of the early adopter program, SLSP will help shape Rapido’s roadmap.
Built on the Ex Libris higher‑ed cloud platform, Rapido offers an advanced and up-to-date user experience and fully automates the entire resource sharing process while utilizing advanced technologies and smart decision-making rules. Rapido provides patrons with an intuitive, streamlined service from discovery to delivery of all resource types, and is designed to handle large numbers of requests in a cost-effective way.
EBSCO Information Services and Ignite Online Partner to Support Libraries Looking to Adopt FOLIO
EBSCO Information Services, Voting Member, Press Release, August 6, 2020
EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO) and IGNITE Online are partnering to support libraries looking to adopt the FOLIO Library Services Platform (LSP). EBSCO and IGNITE Online will work together to provide reliable local hosting and support services to libraries across Latin America.
IGNITE Online supports libraries in Latin America in using Koha, DSpace and other technological software and innovative tools. By assisting libraries looking to implement FOLIO, IGNITE Online will be able to provide additional services to current customers and to libraries looking for an alternative when considering a new ILS.
IGNITE Online’s, formerly E-Tech Solutions Corp, CEO Oswaldo Parra says, the company aims to support open source solutions for libraries who need them. “Our partnership with EBSCO is important to libraries in Latin America. FOLIO is a solution that has great potential due to its mindset, which includes a strong customer-service based ethos, listening to the community and evolving to meet ever-changing market needs. Ignite will contribute to the partnership by utilizing its knowledge of over more than 20 years in the market with a multidisciplinary team of professionals.”
EBSCO supports FOLIO development with funding, developers and project management. EBSCO also provides hosting services and advanced software support as well as a variety of data integration services for libraries adopting the FOLIO LSP.
Financials, Mergers, and Acquisitions
Elsevier Acquires SciBite to accelerate solutions for life sciences and corporate R&D industries
Elsevier, Voting Member, Press Release, August 21, 2020
Elsevier, a global research publishing and information analytics provider, and part of RELX, has acquired SciBite, a semantic AI company headquartered in Cambridge, UK, to help customers make faster, more effective R&D decisions through advanced text and data intelligence solutions.
SciBite’s solutions identify and extract scientific insights from structured and unstructured text and content, to identify key concepts such as drugs, proteins, companies, targets, and outcomes. This semantically-enriched, machine-readable data, helps SciBite’s customers around the world make streamlined, more efficient decisions.
SciBite was founded in 2011 by Dr. Lee Harland, who currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer at the company, with a mission to help customers better understand the complexities of life sciences data. SciBite’s major products include: TERMite, an AI and ontology driven text analysis engine; DOCstore, which transforms search through semantic indexing; and CENtree, a next-generation collaborative ontology management platform; they are complemented by a suite of apps that support its core technology and allow customers to automate data-curation and manage terminology standards.
Leadership Opportunities
Clarivate Announces Appointment of Stefano Maestri as Chief Technology Officer
Clarivate Analytics, Voting Member, News Announcement, August 27, 2020
Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CCC), a global leader in providing trusted information and insights to accelerate the pace of innovation, today announced the appointment of Stefano Maestri as Chief Technology Officer based in London. Stefano brings over 20 years of technology leadership experience leading technology teams in global organizations within the financial services sector. Stefano replaces Randy Harvey who has announced plans to retire.
A deeply experienced technology professional, Stefano spent the past four years as CTO for the financial services division of IHS-Markit where he led a complex, multi-faceted organizational transformation to support a cloud-first product strategy. Prior to IHS Markit where he spent almost 12 years in total, he held technology and content leadership roles at Barclays Capital, NYSE and Credit Suisse.
American Physical Society Names Jonathan Bagger Chief Executive Officer
American Physical Society, Voting Member, Press Release, August 13, 2020
Theoretical physicist Jonathan Bagger will become the next Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the American Physical Society (APS). The selection was unanimously approved by the APS Board of Directors.
Bagger has completed six years as Director of TRIUMF, Canada’s particle accelerator center, located in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was previously Krieger-Eisenhower Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University, where he served as chair of the department and held several senior administrative positions. As its new CEO, Bagger will oversee all aspects of APS operations, including managing a staff of 250 people and a $68 million annual budget.
“I am deeply honored to have been selected as the next CEO of APS,” said Bagger. “This is a critical moment for physics. I look forward to working with the Board and Council to ensure that APS faithfully represents the interests of its members while continuing to build a broad and inclusive community to address the world’s most pressing challenges.”
Global Impacts
American Library Association Announces 2021 Midwinter Meeting will be virtual
American Library Association (ALA), Voting Member, Press Release, August 6, 2020
The American Library Association’s Executive Board announced today that the 2021 ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits scheduled for January 22-26 in Indianapolis will take place virtually.
“It is clear that as we continue to coexist with coronavirus, we need to adjust our approach to meetings and events,” said Julius C. Jefferson, Jr., ALA president. “In the last few months, we have successfully pivoted our delivery to present the Virtual Event in June and ALA’s Holding Space tour series this summer. Though we very much hoped to be able to meet in person in Indianapolis, the health and safety of conference attendees, ALA members and staff, exhibitors, and other stakeholders are the priority.”
Jefferson continued: “We will have incredibly dynamic speakers, a full online exhibit floor, and more features that I know you’ll love.”
Government Initiatives
Clarivate launches Arabic Citation Index in Egypt
Clarivate Analytics, Voting Member, Press Release, August 17, 2020
Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CCC), a global leader in providing trusted information and insights to accelerate the pace of innovation, has now launched the Arabic Citation Index™ (ARCI), the world's first local language citation index for the Arabic world in Egypt.
The ARCI is funded by the Egyptian government, and is available across the entire research community in Egypt. It is also open to journal submissions by editors of Arabic-language journals and will be open to researchers and organisations in all 22 nations of the Arab League by the end of 2020.
Powered by the Web of Science™, the world's largest publisher-independent global citation index, the ARCI provides access to bibliographic information and citations to scholarly articles from over 400 expertly curated Arabic journals, with language interface in both English and Arabic. The indexing of Arabic publications will provide local scientific communities with improved routes to collaborating with national, regional, and international research efforts – extending the Arabic academic footprint.